Howard Mahler

Funeral services for Ret. Col. William Howard Mahler, 91, of Cookeville, will be held at 11 am Saturday, October 20, at the Cookeville Chapel of Hooper Huddleston & Horner Funeral Home with Dr. Randall Adkisson officiating. Interment with military honors will follow at the Cookeville City Cemetery. Col. Mahler"�s family will receive friends Friday from 5 "� 7 pm and again Saturday from 10 am until service time at the funeral home. Col. Mahler died Thursday, October 17, 2012 at Master"�s Health Care Center in Algood, TN. He was born on August 12, 1921 in Baxter, TN, to the late Dailey Siegel and Emily Lou Dyer Mahler. He was a long time member of Cookeville First Baptist, having joined the church in 1948. Col. Mahler served 5 years in the U.S. Navy during WWII being discharged as a Chief Petty Officer. He also served in the Army National Guard for 32 years retiring in 1980. His military service totaled 37 years of which 23 were full-time with the guard. He graduated from the Command & General Staff College in Fort Levenworth, KS and retired after serving in several positions including Director of Logistics for the Adjutant General and State Maintenance Officer. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by three brothers, Len, James and Ralph Mahler; three sisters, Myrtle Mahler, Lillian Meredith, and Elizabeth Stewart. He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Mildred Speck Mahler (whom he married June 17, 1944 in Cookeville); son and daughter-in-law, Bill and Dorothy Mahler of Brentwood; brother and sister-in-law, Joe and Gini Mahler of Powell, TN; sister and brother-in-law, Betty and Lonnie Hurt of Murfreesboro, TN; and a host of nieces and nephews. Family and friends will serve as pallbearers. Memorial contributions may be made to Cookeville First Baptist Church Mission Fund 18 S. Walnut Ave. Cookeville, TN 38501 or Wounded Warriors 223 Rosa L. Parks Ave, Suite 301, Nashville, TN 37203.